I don't know what Pepe, Manolo or Lucas will think, the three fictitious fans that Luis Enrique alluded to the day before to justify his decisions, but surely the three give their blessing to the inclusion of Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres in the starting eleven of Spain. They shone against Kosovo, with one goal each, and they have been the brightest thing that the start of the World Cup qualifiers has left us. There will be no more games or experiments before Luis Enrique gives the list of 23 players for the European Championship. Zipi and Zape will be in it, sure, a good part of La Roja's offensive danger goes through their boots.
They were the ones who best knew how to read Kosovo's defense. Spain generated more danger in the first ten minutes than, for example, in the entire game played a week ago against Greece. A shot by Olmo, a gallop by Ferran that did not find a finisher and another incursion by Alba made it clear that we were facing a different landscape from the previous two commitments. Kosovo had waved the flag of good football, at least offensive and fearless football, at Tuesday's press conference. “Even if we are a small team, we will have more chances to win if we have the ball; for me, speculating 1-0 or playing counterattack is not football, ”announced Bernard Challandes, his coach. But this medicine has contraindications, such as the one that the team undresses when the rival manages to break the first line of containment. Challandes initially opted for three centrals, with a double pivot and a notable absence, that of Zeneli in the band. Above was Muriqi who they trusted all their savings.
In Spain, meanwhile, the news in neon lights was the absence of Sergio Ramos. The madridista was physically well, recognized Luis Enrique's assistant, Jesús Casas, in the RTVE microphones shortly before the opening whistle. Well, even stranger. In the rest of the team, Marcos Llorente returned to the right side, as against Greece, Koke formed again in the center of the field, while at the top he wore the trident of the match that opened the qualifying rounds: Ferran, Morata and Olmo. In the key of the Basque derby, which on Saturday awaits the final of the Copa del Rey on that same lawn in La Cartuja, Athletic began winning 2-0: its two internationals, Unai Simón and Íñigo Martínez were starters, while the only Real player in the squad, Oyarzabal, rested on the bench. Although all things considered, losing there maybe is winning. Any minute of rest is appreciated by Marcelino and Imanol.
La Roja was gradually maturing the rival. The initial drawing mutated into several drawings, with Koke starting to the left and then turning to the right, with Pedri transforming into one and a thousand pedris, one of the qualities of Barcelona's jewel. He knows how to play fast when others move lazily, he knows how to play slow where everyone is in a hurry and the ball burns. Morata stretched the team, almost always receiving from behind but leaving space for the interiors. In one of those, Olmo saw extra space, placed the ball on the right and gave us a PlayStation parable, with the ball entering the same square. Literal. Too bad there were no fans in the stands to enjoy such beauty. But since there is no Zipi without Zape, just three minutes later Ferran also claimed his minute of glory. The one from City entered on the right and finished off at the base of the opposite post, a manual action, leaving Samir Ujkani unarmed, who saw his illusion of keeping a clean sheet collapse in two blows.
That great first-half final predicted goals and a feast at the restart. But it was not like that. This time Ujkani stopped the Spanish shots, while Kosovo decided to go up in search of a goal that would enter the history books. Kastrati was the one who had him closest, but Llorente and Íñigo Martínez cleared the danger. But it was a good warning to sailors, because shortly after came the crochet of the Kosovar left. Unai Simón went wrong and the ball reached Halimi in three quarters of attack, but stuck almost to the band. The Sandhausen midfielder did not think twice and released a left-footed shot that no Spanish defender could intercept. A great goal and a huge error by Simón, who was playing his sixth consecutive game as a starter against Kosovo.
Fortunately, La Roja reacted before the fear of a championship stumble even ran through their heads. And the goal could not bear any other signature than that of Gerard Moreno, who had entered the game eight minutes earlier instead of Morata. It was the rubric to a match in which Spain went from more to less and in which Ramos played five more minutes in his career for the world record for international caps (180, four from the Egyptian Ahmed Hassan). The important thing, however, were the three points, which alleviate the chills of the duel with Greece. The qualifiers for Qatar 2022 will return in September. Before us, a European Championship awaits us in which we can shake off the dust left by the latest international stumbling blocks. Ferran, Olmo, Pedri and company allow us to face this two-month countdown with a better face. It gives me that Pepe, Manolo and Lucas will have dinner today more relaxed.